Electronic publishing, increasing use of graphics and sounds in email, and other factors have created a growing demand by computer users for clip art and other forms of media clips. When creating an electronic document with a software application, tools are usually provided that enable a user to browse available media clips so that an appropriate clip can be selected for use in the document. Most users will have at least a limited collection of media clips stored on a local hard drive. Alternatively, media clips are now readily available from various sites on the Internet, such as Microsoft Corporation's CLIP GALLERY LIVE 2000™ web site, and are also distributed on compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), DVD, and through other forms of memory media.
As used herein, the term “media clip(s)” is intended to encompass all forms of digital media, including but not limited to, graphic images, sounds, animations, fonts, and photographs.
The sheer number of media clips that are available from various sources can be overwhelming to a user attempting find a particular media clip most suitable to individual needs and taste. A person may have a collection of hundreds of media clips stored on a hard drive or available over a local area network (LAN) to which the person's computer is connected. When accessing a web site at which media clips are available, there may be thousands of choices available. Choosing a suitable media clip from such a vast number has become increasingly difficult and time consuming.
One way to select a desired media clip from a database in which they are stored is to search the clips based on a keyword. Media clips frequently will have one or more keywords associated with them that enable a user to search for media clips that are directed to a subject referenced by a keyword or by a category entered by the user. Or, a user can simply start browsing through the available clips, hoping to come across one that is suitable. In either case, it is desirable for a user who has searched a database based on a keyword and found a media clip that has suitable qualities, to be able to search for other media clips with similar qualities. These qualities will often be difficult to define and frequently will not be limited to a single subject.
It would also be helpful to enable a user to sort the results of a search performed either on keyword or a category, so that the order in which the results are presented to the user is based upon an absolute ranking of the media clips in regard to a particular predefined attribute. No prior art software is available that enables media clips to be searched and/or sorted in this manner. It would therefore be desirable to provide such capabilities to assist users in selecting a suitable media clip that meets the needs and tastes of the user.